Paul McCartney Rocks Regina
*Goosebumps* I got goosebumps up the back of my head when he played Hey Jude. Crash. A music legend played in the Queen City for the first time, and seemed…
Saskatchewan
Renewable Energy Predictions Way Off
They were vastly underestimated. .@theturner And yet @SaskPower as recently as 2013 was highlighting a #solarpower study from 2000 to guide their grid planning. #skpoli— John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) August 14,…
Saskatchewan Budget Saved by Falling Loonie
Following last week’s troubling news about potash, the Saskatchewan government released its first-quarter financial report today. The headline seems to be “Oil Keeps Budget in Black”, with a forecast increase…
Indian Head #sask Concert
I ended up at a house concert in Indian Head. It’s interesting where life takes you when you don’t plan your day. Dan Frechette and Laurel Thomsen are on their…
Aggressive Cop Loses to Skateboarder
There might be a better way to entertain kids who want to skateboard in a city, other than yell at them, push them, and make their desired outdoor fun illegal.…
Experience Regina
I know it’s a joke song, but I like it anyway. It’s so bad, it’s good. And I finally found the original video.
PotashCorp Reports Inadequate Royalties
PotashCorp reported today that it paid $81 million of “provincial mining and other taxes” on $975 million of potash sales in the second quarter of 2013. In other words, Saskatchewan’s…
A Ralph of Many Trades and a Master of At Least One
Federal political candidates register their occupations with Elections Canada. I was recently looking through some election results and noticed that my old friend, Ralph Goodale, has had quite a varied…
Freaking Saskatoon Police #YXE #SKpoli
I’m sure the Saskatoon Police do a lot of good work. They’ve really cleaned up their image since the 1990s, and it’s been decades since they’ve reportedly given anyone a…
The Harper Government Must Be Right On Track #cdnpoli
This morning, I dealt with indignant HarperCons on Twitter, while they didn’t take my advice about the validity of claims by a certain tweeter not shy of bending the truth…
Northern Lights Animation
I have a few more of these aurora animations to create and upload to YouTube. Here’s a fun one to start with tonight though.
Sask Party Employment Math: From the Great Wall to the Berlin Wall
Last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released my policy brief on Saskatchewan job-creation. Using Statistics Canada figures, it demonstrated that “workforce growth has been almost identical during the…
Lafleche Centennial, 100 Years of Awesome
June 29, 2013 I’ve been at the Lafleche 100 celebration on Canada Day long weekend. There were few people my age who I knew, and many of the oldest generation…
Aurora in Wood Mountain
One of the advantages to small-town Saskatchewan, is that it’s easier to escape light pollution than it is in a city like Regina. I was fortunate to be out of…
The Great Wall Ties Chairman Calvert’s Five-Year Plan
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released my policy brief (PDF) on Saskatchewan employment growth. It is covered on the front pages of today’s Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix…
Photographing Old Saskatchewan
Churches in Saskatchewan are closing down, and being abandoned at an increasing rate it seems. Active churches in my hometown have dwindled from four during my childhood, to maybe one…
Dark Sky Preserve at Wood Mountain
I found a new way to appreciate my home town through the eyes of astronomers this weekend. Also, I used the astronomers’ telescopes, which is a great way to look…
All Eggheads In One Laundry Basket #skpoli
The Sask Party is putting all of the province’s health related laundry into one laundry basket, in Regina. If you don’t know Saskatchewan geography, this borders on insanity. We’re going…
Coal Hard Truth #skpoli
“We depend too much on coal” — @MayorMandel #p2syyc; glad someone said that too— Chris Turner (@theturner) May 29, 2013 .@MMandryk IEA says we have ~3 years left (worldwide) to…
Lafleche Loses Another Building: Flying Goose Inn
Another accidental fire in Lafleche last night, this one attributed initially to careless smoking (is there any other kind?). The Flying Goose Inn, the only bar and hotel in town,…